Tournament Broadcast Guide - Part 2: PGN Files
In Part 1 of this guide, we covered broadcasting chess games with DGT LiveChess Cloud, which is the best way to do so. However, we understand that DGT LiveChess Cloud may not be available to everyone.
In this part of the guide, we'll cover how to set up Portable Game Notation (PGN) for sharing game data. In part 3, we'll go over how to upload and sync those PGN files so we can broadcast them on our Events page.
As mentioned before, using PGN files is not ideal. It involves too many steps, resulting in unavoidable delays and complications. However, it will be your only option if you are using version 1 of DGT LiveChess (which doesn't support cloud), the old and deprecated "TOMA" software, e-boards from a different vendor (e.g., Chess Evolution and itchess), significantly older DGT e-boards, or alternative hardware like smartphones or tablets, whose software generates PGN files.
Overview
Here's a summary of how the PGN method works:
- The software used by the organizer records data to PGN files locally and continuously updates these files with new data
- Simultaneously, an FTP client uploads every new version of these PGN files to a cloud location
- Chess.com and others read the data and display the live games.
Setting Up PGN Files
The first step is to create an output for DGT LiveChess to store the generated PGN files. Please note that the following steps apply to version 2 of DGT LiveChess:
After setting up your tournament in DGT LiveChess, go to the Output tab. Click on the arrow in the bottom-right corner and select "Export to local filesystem."
In the menu that appears, choose a location in your drive where you wish LiveChess to create the necessary folders to store the PGN files. Check the box next to "Combine PGNs per round." We advise you also to check the box next to "Export as e-PGN," which is not critical but useful.
DGT LiveChess will create a new folder for the tournament at the location you chose. The folder will have subfolders for each round named "round-1," "round-2," and so on. The PGN files of the games of each round will be stored inside the corresponding subfolder.
DGT LiveChess will generate one PGN file for each live game by default. They'll appear inside the round subfolder once you create games in LiveChess and start recording. They'll be called "game-1.pgn," "game-2.pgn," etc.
By ticking the box next to "Combine PGNs per round," you're instructing LiveChess to also merge all individual game PGNs into one file containing all games of the round. This file will be stored in the same location and will be called "games.pgn." This is the file that will be relayed to Chess.com and others.
These PGN files will be continuously updated to include the new moves made in the games. Frequently providing each new version of the "games.pgn" file enables the relay of your live games on Chess.com.
As mentioned, the steps above apply only to version 2 of DGT LiveChess.
If you are using version 1, the steps above to set up PGN file generation aren't necessary—they are set up automatically. To set the location of the generated PGN files, click on the only menu item, File, and then on Preferences to reach this window:
Choose your tournament from the list at the bottom, click on the value in the "directory" column, and enter your preferred path. All other settings on this window are not relevant to our current topic and will be covered in a future article.
Other programs provide a similar method to store the generated PGN files locally. This is where the differences end. From here on, the process will be the same regardless of your chosen hardware and software.
In the next part of this guide, we'll teach you how to upload and sync your PGN files using an FTP client. Stay tuned!
Check out the full guide:
